Roast Chicken

A family favorite. Relatively simple, but no less delicious! Trussing the chicken is optional, but it does help it cook evenly.

Ingredients:

• 2–3 lb roasting chicken (= 1–1.5 kg)
• kosher salt
• black pepper
• 2 tsp minced thyme
• unsalted butter
• Dijon mustard (optional. serve on the side)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450º (= 232ºC).

Rinse chicken in cold water, then dry thoroughly inside and out. Salt and pepper inside cavity, then truss chicken with twine. Cover outside of chicken generously with salt, and add pepper to taste.

Place chicken in roasting pan. Bake untouched (don’t open the oven door!) until it reaches 165ºF 73.9ºC) internal temperature, about 50–60 minutes.

Remove from oven and add thyme to pan. Baste chicken with juices and thyme and let sit 15 min. Remove twine. Cut breast down the middle and slather meat with butter.

Stoofvlees (Belgian Beef Stew)

An instant favorite! A homey beef stew served on top of fresh Belgian fries. The "herb bouquet” (kruiden-tuiltje) can be bought pre-made in Belgian grocery stores, or easily made by tying together the herbs listed with string or in a cheese cloth.

• 2 to 2 1/2 lbs (= 900~1125g) stew meat
• 2 large onions, cut in half then sliced in thick slices
• 16 oz (= 475 ml) dark Belgian beer (about 1 1/2 bottles)
• 2 Tbsp dark brown sugar
• 1 small clove garlic, minced
• 1 packet stew spices (kruiden-tuiltje)
• 2 laurel leaves/bay leaves
• 3–4 sprigs rosemary
• 2–3 sprigs thyme
• 1 clove (whole)
• 1–2 slices brown bread, liberally spread with mustard
• 1 splash balsamic vinegar
• Butter & olive oil (for sautéing)
• Salt & pepper to taste

Cut the meat into 1-inch-cube pieces. Season with salt & pepper. Brown meat in olive oil in a large dutch oven. Brown meat in small batches to avoid overcrowding the meat—try instead to get a crispy brown edge on each side of the piece. Let the brown crusty “crud” build up in the pan—this is where the flavor is!

When all meat is browned, pour a splash of beer into the pan to loosen up what is built up in the bottom of the pan. Then add butter, sliced onions, and garlic, cooking until onions are translucent.

Add remainder of the beer, browned beef, herb packet, and brown sugar. Heat to a simmer. Add bread slices with mustard. Leave uncovered until stew reaches desired thickness, then cover. Simmer a total of 2–3 hours, until beef is tender.

Remove packet of herbs. Add splash of balsamic vinegar and stir. 

Serve with or on top of fresh Belgian fries.

Giordano’s Pizza

Best attempt at replicating Giordano’s stuffed Chicago-style pizza. Still tweaking, but not bad. The dough is enough for one pizza (with trimmings left over). The sauce is more than enough for one, possibly enough for two.

Crust:

·     ¾ cup warm water

·     2 tsp active dry yeast

·     ¾ tsp sugar

·     3 ½ cup all purpose flour

·     ¾ tsp kosher salt

·     ¾ tsp sugar

·     ¾ tsp garlic powder

·     ¾ cup corn oil

·     3 Tbsp warm water

·     2 Tbsp butter (for pan)

Sauce:

·     2 (140g) cans tomato puree (fijne tomatenpulp)

·     1 (500g) box diced tomatoes (tomaten-stukjes)

·     2 tsp sugar

·     2 tsp kosher salt

·     2 tsp crushed fresh garlic (1/4 tsp garlic powder)

·     2 tsp garlic salt

·     3 tsp black pepper

·     5 tsp basil

·     2 tsp marjoram

·     3 tsp oregano

·     1 tsp parsley

Toppings:

·     400 g (12 oz) mozzarella cheese (sliced from a block or shredded)

·     Salami, pepperoni, spinach, etc.

Dough

Proof 2 tsp yeast in ¾ cup warm water, adding in ¾ tsp sugar. Allow to proof 5 min.

In the bowl of a KitchenAid, mix together flour, salt, sugar, and garlic powder. Add oil and mix with dough hook. Add water & yeast mixture. Mix with dough hook for one minute on low, using spatula to scrape bottom. Add water, one Tbsp at a time, mixing for one minute between. Do NOT over-mix! Allow dough to rise 4 hours.

Original recipe recommends keeping dough in the fridge for at least 24 hours, for better texture and flavor. If refrigerating dough, pull it out for 2 hours to allow dough to return to room temperature. 

Sauce

Combine ingredients and set aside. Do not cook. I’d recommend straining the sauce if necessary to remove excess liquid.

Assembly

Preheat oven to 450ºF (=232ºC). Remove 1/3 of the dough and set aside. Roll out remaining 2/3 of the dough to make a 15 inch circle (1/4 inch thick). Grease a 9 inch springform pan (or cake pan) with butter. Place rolled dough in pan and tuck it in to reach the edges of the bottom. There should be excess dough hanging over the top of the pan.

Cover bottom of crust with toppings (pepperoni, etc.). Cover toppings with cheese.

Roll out remaining 1/3 of dough as thin as possible. Place on top of cheese and gently pinch all the way around the pan to seal the doughs together. Cut several small slits in top layer to release steam. 

Pour two ladles’ worth of sauce on top and swirl around so that sauce covers over the slits. Add two more ladles of sauce. Use a rolling pin or knife to cut excess dough from rim of pan. If desired, sprinkle a little parmesan cheese over the sauce.

Bake at 450º for 30 min. I recommend covering the crust with foil for the first 20 min to avoid burning. Remove when crust is golden brown.

Allow to sit 2 minutes, then serve.